The Cell
by Bojack727
Summary: (Chapter 2 is up!) The Dream Master forces the four heroes to undergo traumatic nightmares and memories- Starting with Rei, whom he forces to relive his destroyed childhood and come face to face with the killer of his family. Please Read & Review, thanks!
1. Prologue

THE CELL  
  
Prologue.  
  
He looked up at the statue before him, it was an image of a man with long, flowing hair and there was a great sword at his side. "Sir, what do you wish of me?" he asked, looking towards he alter but not leaving the cover of the dense shadows.  
  
"Heretics have defeated the honored Mother." Came the restrained, ominous voice, from the statue.  
  
He thought this over; he took in what the detached voice told him. "I feared as much, I could feel it, when mother fell. from grace." He replied, wiping tears from his eyes. "What will happen now?" He asked.  
  
"Not all is lost, but we lack the power to restore the Avatars. so, you must detain and exterminate those who have killed the Mother." The voice replied.  
  
"I am filled with sorrow, the world will grow dark now that the mother who once did make all things unto this world will never again look down upon her work. Who are the defilers who slew the mother of all thing?" He asked sadly.  
  
"Mere mortals, walking the dirt and tedium of meaningless existence. ignorant upstarts. mongrels before the eyes of the Goddess." Came the voice's reply.  
  
"Just show me where they are and I will exterminate them." He replied.  
  
"I'm glad, I know I could count on you." The voice replied. "As we speak, Mother's Killers trudge through the barren sands of the great desert." The voice added. "They will walk and soon set up a camp for the night. as it is common among those of mortal flesh to seek rejuvenation in times of weakness."  
  
An image then appeared before him. He looked down and saw four people struggling through the vicious desert sands. One of them was a young man with blue hair and a white coat, one was a young woman in a pink dress with blond hair and wings, the third was a strange looking man with tiger stripes and a tail, and the last was a strange looking woman with long rabbit ears and long flowing red hair.  
  
He looked up at the alter and waited for it say more. "They will try to leave the desert, but I want you to make sure that they never see anything beyond the blighted dunes of desert. You will trap them and deal with them. by means that you see fit." The voice instructed him.  
  
"Yes of course, sir." He replied. "These unfit beast will set up their camp- as you say- and they will take their rest. a rest that they will never awake from. As sure as the stars are in the sky, I will unveil to them the terrors of death and hell itself." He replied.  
  
".Drakkus?" The voice asked.  
  
"Yes?" He replied.  
  
"Hold back nothing, no less then true terror is fit for beast such as those who assassinated Myria ." The voice added as it faded away and the statue became completely quiet again.  
  
Drakkus looked at the projection of the four travelers. "They'll never leave the desert alive. I'll break apart their hearts and minds with fear and loathing." He added.  
  
Drakkus twirled around looked over at four smoothed sections of the rock wall and watched as an image of each of the four members appeared in them.  
  
"Four hells for four assassins." He exclaimed.  
~End of Prologue~  
  
Well, here it is, my serious story, I hope you will enjoy all the future material for it. I wrote this because as I progressed with my other works, I realized that I desperately want to make something serious. So, this is the result, I hope you will enjoy it.  
  
Thanks, Bojack. 


	2. Chapter I

This chapter will be a bridging device for the next chapters, so it's going to be rather short. I hope you enjoy it though.  
  
The Cell  
  
Chapter 01  
  
Ryu, Nina, Rei and Momo were busy setting up their camp for the night. Rei and Ryu constructing the large tent for them all to sleep in, while Momo and Nina were getting a fire started to cook the meet from the animals they had caught earlier that day.  
  
The mood of the group was rather bleak; having lost the other members of the group in such a difficult way was not easy for any of them.  
  
Rei had put on a big show of bravado earlier on when they had caught the desert animals for their dinner. He talked like he was really charged up.  
  
However, Momo figured that he was just putting on a brave face for the others, but figured that he was really hurting deep down. When that purple- haired kid showed up and started telling Ryu that the Brood were evil and had to be destroyed. It must have broken his heart to have the Teepo, who was like a brother to him, to be twisted up inside with guilt and self- loathing. It was horrible when they were all forced to kill him.  
  
Worse yet, Garr turned into a statue and then the final blow was dealt when Peco left them to go communicate with nature and try to save the world from the desert.  
  
The idea of killing a "family" member was terrible to Momo, she'd lost her mom first and then her dad, so she understood what is like to feel so very alone. She guessed that it was hard on Ryu as well, but not nearly as hard as it was for Rei- who had known (and raised) him for much longer. So, she decided to take it easy on him for a while. at least till he was feeling better.  
  
In a rather fitting surprise, Rei sat down across from her, not making eye contact with her as he did, though.  
  
Rei looked at the ground with a somber expression on his face.  
  
No words passed between them as Rei cut and prepared the animal meat for roasting.  
  
Ryu and Nina walked over and sat down between them and began eating with them.  
  
***  
  
Drakkus descended upon the sleeping foursome in the night like an arrant thief. He looked around and glided towards the closed door of the tent. The wind blew hard against him in the darkness, but it had now effect on him do to the fact that his strong inner-darkness rapped around him like a cloak, concealing his true form from mortal eyes.  
  
He easily slipped in through the gap between the flaps of the tent. He floated in and looked around at the sleeping "heroes".  
  
"Unworthy scum, death's too good for you." He thought to himself. He then scanned air for distinctive energies in the room that were emitted by their negative emotions and inner thought and memories.  
  
He smiled as he quickly picked up countless "threads" and "links" to dark secrets and long lost regrets.  
  
"Hmm, yes, this will do nicely. I could make an epic nightmare with all of their despairs and regrets. There's so much material at my disposal." He commented to himself. "It is a pity that I must be expeditious in my preparations. but no matter, I'll break them completely and destroy their wills." He added, still thinking to himself.  
  
Drakkus began building up his power while his victims slept. He noticed that the cat-like man and the woman with the rabbit ears both had such similar "threads of hardship" that almost seemed to lead to the same points. He could almost swear that they shared a common. thread. He ALMOST regretted that they would never find each other. almost. He rather liked the idea that they had just the right kinds of mutual energy to heal the distinctive emotional wounds they suffered. Such a pity!  
  
~End of Chapter 01~  
  
Just a short chapter for now, but the next four of them will be longer and more in-depth. Thanks for reading.  
  
P.s. You might be able to tell that I blatantly favor Rei/Momo fics, well, that aspect may play into the story later.  
  
Bye,  
  
Bojack 


	3. Chapter II

Chapter 02: Rei's Nightmare  
  
Rei looked around him and saw that he was lying on his back in a field. It was a cool summer day and the sun was shining down on him and their was a gentle breeze blowing in his face and through his hair.  
  
He sat up and looked around him, there was something rather familiar about this place, but he couldn't really place it at the moment. He then noticed something very different about himself. He held up his hand and saw that it was much smaller and looked down at himself and realized that he was suddenly a young child again.  
  
"How could this be happening?" Rei thought to himself. "Am I reliving my childhood in a dream." He wondered as he looked around. He stood up and walked over to a small stream and looked down at his reflection. Sure enough, he was a kid again, his body was thinner and his shoulders were much narrower and he was barely more then half his adult height.  
  
Rei stood back up and looked around again. He then jumped as he heard loud noise in the distance. It sounded like a gunshot.  
  
"No." Rei thought as he looked towards the woods in front of him. "Why is this happened to me?" He thought.  
  
He then looked up as a tall, slender, female Worren ran up to him and took hold of his hand. "We have to run Rei!" She exclaimed as she took off with him in hand.  
  
"What's going on, mom?" He asked frantically as they ran.  
  
At this point, it seemed that he was just watching from his eyes as the whole terrible memory was being reenacted before him.  
  
"No time, we have to run!" She replied as they ran.  
  
"But where's dad?" He asked nervously.  
  
She flinched. "I don't know where your father is." She replied, looking up at the sky.  
  
After the two Worrens had disappeared, several people stepped out into the small clearing where they had been.  
  
The man in the front of the group stepped forward. He was tall and thin and tanned with brown hair- devoid of any facial hair. He was wearing a straw hat and a blue shirt wit a white bandanna and brown breeches and leather boots.  
  
He slung his large sniper rifle over his shoulder and looked around. "I know they came this way. the female's trail led me here." He thought out loud as he rubbed his chin. He then turned to one of his men. "Tell me, would you, what has befallen the male?" He asked nonchalantly.  
  
"I'm sorry, Sir Montigar, but he put up too much of a fight, we had to kill him." The man replied calmly.  
  
"Oh well, that is unfortunate, but at least we can still use the fur for a pelt." He replied as he looked around and then kneeled down to look at the grass.  
  
"It's really quiet east to track them, you just look for a bit of misplaced mud or a bent blade of grass." He spoke as he looked around and then turned to look to the left. "They went that way." He announced. He then turned to the men. "Well, you're not being paid to just stand there, go!" He exclaimed.  
  
The men took off in the direction that Rei and his mother had fled.  
  
***  
  
Rei's mother had taken him down along the stream's path, to where it mingled into a larger river, where there were patches of tall reeds and moss lining the edges of the moving river on both banks.  
  
"Quickly, go down there and hide." She told Rei. She then gave him a stern look before he could protest and nudged him down towards the bank of the river.  
  
"I'm going to lead them off in a different direction. You must wait here until I come back for you." She instructed him quickly and then wiped here eyes. "I have to find the others, and then we'll come back as soon as we can." She whispered to him as he waded into the water.  
  
Rei then watched as his mother disappeared into the woods as she ran down the river, in the direction of the current. He knelt down in the water, thoroughly soaking his pants and shirt in the water.  
  
"She never did return that day. I guess she didn't find my uncle and the others either." Rei pondered to himself.  
  
Rei now found himself looking around at the desolate huts that his family had once lived in, before the poachers came and hunted them down, before he came. The man that he had seen that day was like death himself.  
  
"It's not fair, why am I alone?!" He cried out falling onto the ground. He was all alone now.  
  
Rei now realized that he was watching the child version of himself, it seemed that he was back in his body, once more. "Why is this happening, I never wanted to remember this." Rei thought as he looked around.  
  
He failed to notice as it began growing darker around him until he looked around and he seemed to be standing in a dark void. He looked around. "Where the hell am I now?!" He exclaimed out loud.  
  
"You're in your subconscious." A voice replied.  
  
Rei turned around to see that man from his nightmares. "You!" He yelled.  
  
"I see you're all grown up now." Montigar commented. "I must say that it is quiet amazing that you ever survived the destruction of your clan." He added.  
  
Rei looked at the man in confusion, he wanted to attack him, but something was holding him back, keeping him from attacking.  
  
"You didn't to get to see your parents screaming for death, did you?" He added. "We killed your father quickly, but your mother and cousins weren't so lucky." He spoke with a grin.  
  
"Wouldn't it be better to join them, and to be with your family again?" He asked him.  
  
Rei looked at him. "What do you mean?" Rei asked bitterly.  
  
"I can send you to join them, we have the power to do that." Montigar replied. "Wouldn't it nice to be done with all the loneliness, to be with your own kind again?" The man asked him.  
  
Rei looked down, but didn't respond.  
  
"You are beginning to understand, I take it?" He asked. "You've been through so much and lost all the things that are dear to you." He added.  
  
Montigar began walking around Rei and talking. "Why not go to join your family and be with your own people." He suggested. "How about it?"  
  
Rei thought to himself. his family, his people, Teepo, they were all gone now and he didn't know what to do anymore.  
  
"Well?" Montigar asked, impatiently. He then placed a knife in Rei hands. "You know what to do now, all you have to is go through with it." He explained.  
  
Rei held up the knife and looked at it. He began to shake as he considered the possibility of what he was about to do. He started to think about the things that had happened to him.  
  
His mother. his father, his cousins and ants and uncles. they were his family and his people. his culture was destroyed. Then he made a new family with Teepo and Ryu and they tried to make a life for themselves. and then that was destroyed as well. He remembered loosing Teepo and Ryu and waking up all alone. with no one left.  
  
.Then he turned into the monster and had killed all of those people in Sin City and in the other places. Then he found Ryu again. and the others. then they all found Teepo in the station. and Teepo died that day. or maybe he had really died a long time ago?  
  
.But what about Ryu? He was still alive? He had the others. too.  
  
Rei began recalling all the things that had happened to him from the loss of his family up till the very moment that he stood their, with the image of the killer of his people looking down at him. and smiling.  
  
"Rei?"  
  
He looked up and saw Montigar step aside, revealing his mother standing to him. "I think you'll want to speak with her." He remarked.  
  
"Mom?" He asked in surprise.  
  
"Yes Rei, it's me." She replied with a smile. She then embraced him gently and spoke to him softly. "We're all here, Rei, all of us." She added.  
  
"What do you mean?" He asked.  
  
"We're all here, you father and rest of your family is waiting for you Rei." She answered. "Please come with us; it's where you belong." She reasoned.  
  
Montigar looked on with a smile as he pulled something out of his pocket.  
  
"It's time to join us; there's nothing left for you." His mother remarked, looking him in the eyes.  
  
It was then that Rei considered what she told him, but as he thought about it. something began to seem wrong about the situation.  
  
"I'm sorry 'mom', but there is something here for me, my friends. and If you were really my mother's spirit, then you'd know that. seeing as how our people believe that the ghost of family watch over us." Rei replied.  
  
The woman became very quiet and looked over at Montigar nervously and then backl at Rei and started to step back.  
  
But then, the male grabbed hold of her wrist. "Take her back!" Rei yelled as he threw the woman into Montigar.  
  
The Hunter watched as the woman struck against him and fell to the ground, no longer moving. She then seemed to burn away, into a strangely-colored ash, and blow away.  
  
"That's not my mother, and you're not Montigar." Rei spat. "It's time for whoever you are to get out of my mind.  
  
The man frowned and shook his head. "Why must your kind always choose the hard way." He remarked. "I'll just have to kill you the hard way. it's time for you to go to hell, Rei!" He exclaimed. The man was then surrounded by a dark, shapeless form- like a black cloud.  
  
"You're the only one going to hell!" Rei replied. He ran towards the being in front of him and lunged his knife at him. The thing caught his hand and held him at bay. The two men began struggling.  
  
"You can't win, beast, my mind is stronger!" He exclaimed as he began trying to twist Rei arm around and stab him with his own knife. "And when I kill you in your dream, you'll die in really life!" He exclaimed.  
  
Something then clicked in Rei's mind as he fought for control of the weapon with the creature. "You're right about one thing- this is my dream!" Rei shouted as he turned his foes hand back around, pointing the sharp blade towards him. "And in my dream. I'm in charge!" Rei yelled as he suddenly gained the upper hand and pushed the knife into the creature's throat.  
  
The fake Montigar coughed out blood and stumbled back. "How can this happen?!" He screamed. "You're nothing but a simple beast." He went on.  
  
"Maybe to you, but here- in my own mind- it's different. you're just an intruder. and it's time for you to go." He said as he turned around and walked away.  
  
***  
  
Drakkus watched as the strand that lead to Rei's mind broke and fell to the ground. "Curses, I've lost my hold on him!" He exclaimed. "And I cannot re- establish a link with him without waking him up. which would be too much of a risk." He thought to himself.  
  
"I must be more careful with the others." He thought to himself. "We need more time to achieve the glorious cause of the master." He remarked.  
  
~End of Chapter Three~  
  
I hope you enjoyed this, please send me some reviews and tell me what you think.  
  
Thanks,  
  
-Bojack 


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